Trans-Atlantic SUP crossing?

[pdxmike]

here's  my  friend  Ed who  paddled a kayak  from  California  to  Hawaii 

Thanks, Tom.  I was completely transfixed hearing his account.  He's incredibly modest and understated.

[Board Stiff]

That's an incredible journey!

Sent from my VS980 4G using Tapatalk

[ManxSUP]

the man is either a legend or crazy, and this answer is always a blurred line...total respect for him, i wish I had the time/money/balls...

[johnysmoke]

Where's he going to sleep on that thing? Close it up and put pontoons out?

[robon]

Looks like something Off-Shore would put in one of his videos. Will it get knocked over by the first wave that is more than 12 inches high? That thing looks seriously sketchy out there, but it's probably more sea worthy than it looks.

[BWilliam]

Looks like something Off-Shore would put in one of his videos. Will it get knocked over by the first wave that is more than 12 inches high? That thing looks seriously sketchy out there, but it's probably more sea worthy than it looks.

Just from looking at the picture I think that back section is a little sketchy. I could see some good sized wave coming from an angle catching that and rolling it or ripping it right off. I think I would enclose that to be safe.








WIll

[Off-Shore]

Here's the promotional video... It will be awesome if he makes it... Can't imagine what it will be like downwinding on this thing...

[Chilly]

Show me a video of him paddling that thing in rough ocean conditions then I may take him seriously. In the meantime this is a joke or he has no clue of what the Atlantic Ocean has in store for him.   

[PonoBill]

Certainly feasible, and like any Atlantic attempt, luck will play a part. Some of the rowboats that have crossed look like things I wouldn't trust to cross a millpond. I assume he inflates stabilizers to sleep and perhaps to help with rough water.

It's a lot easier to do things like this now than it used to be. Or at least I should say it takes less skill if your nav and comm equipment doesn't die. Forty miles a day is achievable, sixty is possible but unlikely. Forty to sixty days. Grim. 

[TallDude]

From the video it does look like a SUP board with some storage enclosures built on top. I looks a little thick. Like paddling a dock. Assuming he gets into bad weather, those storage enclosures and exposed board area are probably about the equivalent of a 3 meter sail. That's enough force in strong winds to roll him over. If he has to punch through white caps or just peaking bump, the water hitting the face of the back enclosure, behind where he stands, will probably stop the board in it's tracks and throw him over. That being said, I imagine if he hits that front enclosure as he goes falls forward can't be good either. If you think about that cargo ship that just sank do to big seas in the Atlantic, you gotta think he's taking a huge gamble. 

[hbsteve]

How can he stay warm all day long in the Atlantic ocean during winter?

[Badger]

Assuming he's taking the normal route across at the right time of year,

He won't be paddling into the wind much. It's a downwinder all the way across.

He'll be pretty far south so he won't likely be cold.

There won't be much for storms. The weather is fairly docile and predictable during the trade wind season. Hundreds of sailboats make the crossing every year. Some as small as 20 feet.

[robon]

Best of luck to him, but that just looks like a very unsafe vessel. All sorts of sharp ridges and corners to get injured on front and back, and you would think he is going to get pitched forward or backwards many times. Maybe he gets good conditions all the way through with little side swell or head on swell, and that's the only way I see him getting through. What an endeavour.

[Weasels wake]

a. French.
b. Sure it's a SUP. Ever see a transatlantic solo rowboat? They look like survival rafts. You row it, it's a rowboat. Stand up and paddle it, it's a standup paddle board. Or maybe a Gondola.
c. French.

d. And much safer than the streets of Paris.

[capobeachboy]

I wish him well but with these types of endeavors luck is gonna play a very big part... 

Also check out these guys:

Chris Bertish - The SUP Crossing: http://chrisbertish.com/projects/sup-crossing/  (how about that paddle Pono?)
Tom Jones - Pacific Plastic Paddle: http://www.tomjonesendurance.com/pacific-plastic-paddle.html